Activity Levels in Reptiles
Reptiles are generally inactive by nature and spend the majority of their time immobile performing non energetic activities such as basking and resting. For example, Iguanas may spend up 90% of the day inactive as any activity uses up precious reserves needed for escape from predators. They are prone to exhaustion during vigorous activity, especially in comparison with mammals. This is because reptiles generally have low oxidative metabolic capacities. Reptiles are generally incapable of outrunning most predators so rely heavily on hiding, as avoidance is far less energy consuming.